from decreased coping and increased symptoms to increased plans to die and actual death rates. Given the importance of the need to investigate this topic, the proposed study will use a quasi-experimental design to survey the effects of religion on reactions to terminal illness.
This review of the literature regarding the effects of religion on reactions to terminal illness was conducted on psych info, proquest, and infotrack data bases. Search terms included religion, religiosity, prayer, spirituality, terminal illness, illness, death, and dying. Searches yielded 19 articles and of these the twelve most appropriate to the topic were chosen for this review. Articles to be reviewed include the following issues: background of the topic, expectancy response theory, needs of the terminally ill, and studies of religion and illness.
Research shows that religion and prayer have been a part of healing throughout history. Mattews, Conti, and Christ (2000) used a review of the literature to present findings of the historical use of religiosity and its clinical effects. The authors reported that although the period from 1860 to 1950 brought the mechanistic view of medicine, leaving little room for the effects of mind or other forces on the body, the era from post WWII to current times includes the mind-body connection. Presently the incorporation of "time" into the mind-body era allows for the suggestion that human consciousness involves the eternal and omnipresent. Findings from this review were that effects of religious belief on terminal illness are now being defined, measured, and show clinically significant results. However it was also found that study methodologies were limited. The authors reported for example, that studies regarding effects of prayer on well-being fail to consider sociodemographic variables. Studies on prayer and coping tend to be focused on subjects that had been treated with medication only. Studies on...